[vernalpool] Re: Amphibian Residents for Classroom

I also want to add that my middle school students who, to be honest, sometimes like to pass notes or have conversations about their personal lives while I am teaching, all begged me for a classroom animal, and not even one of them was distracted when I borrowed some newts and treefrogs for a day and I assigned them to watch the animals and record all their movements. You should have seen all 100 of my students in rapt attention, and generating great questions! They might forget half of what I say, but they remember everything that happened that day.

--- In vernalpool@yahoogroups.com, "KestrelE" <kestreleducation@...> wrote:
>
> Hello, I enjoyed reading all this thoughtful dialogue about whether or not, who, and how we should ever keep amphibians for educational observation. I agree that we can't just be haphazardly kidnapping animals and subjecting them to the perils of life in a school. I also agree that exposure to wildlife is a key factor in inspiring lifelong interest, study, and protection of wildlife. Many classrooms house non native creatures that may do well in captivity but may not connect to learning about life in the students' town. My personal philosophy is to aim for as little disruption to the natural environment as possible while still exposing people to it and building knowledge and connection. When I have worked with schools with ready access to outdoor areas, I have usually done everything I can to bring the students to ponds rather than the ponds to the students. At the moment I am in a teaching position with very low likelihood that I will be able to facilitate a field trip to a vernal pond. My intention was to ask for ideas about ways to bring some amphibians in for study that would be as low impact as possible for them. I was thinking someone might already be keeping tree frogs and be willing to loan them, or that we might borrow them from the wild and follow quarantine rules and re-lease to point of capture. I completely agree with Leo Kenny (except for the brick part), that it is not responsible to ever release a captive animal to a non native habitat (and in some cases not even back to the native habitat.) Really not sure about the brick! I do want to say that I put quite a lot of effort into teaching students about native animals and how to find them in the wild and observe them safely in their natural habitats. Since my students asked for a frog to live in our room, I also have been talking a lot with them about native amphibians and the issues involved in their care . I am still not certain what I will do, but thanks everyone for all your helpful thoughts!
> Jessica
>
> --- In vernalpool@yahoogroups.com, "uncledj66@" <dforbes@> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Jessica,
> > In general, I agree with Carol, but I also think that tolerance for captivity varies widely among species. I see eastern newts in beaver ponds and farm ponds everywhere. I suspect they can tolerate a wider range of living conditions that other species, and could handle living in a tank for a while. I'm no expert, but maybe someone here could recommend how to keep some newts in such a way that their lives are not impacted to heavily.
> > ~Doug
> >
> >
> > --- In vernalpool@yahoogroups.com, "KestrelE" <kestreleducation@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hello, I am looking for gray tree frogs and / or eastern newts who could be residents of a middle school science classroom from soon until mid - June. We are doing some vernal pool and general ecosystem studies. I have experience caring for these. Not sure if I need an educational permit, as well. Does anyone know of anywhere I can find these, or do you have some you could allow my classroom to hold onto until June? If it's better, we can keep them permanently or release them to site of capture after the school year is over, all depending on situation and what is best for the animals. There are no non native animals in the classroom and the amphibians will not be handled by students, only observed.
> > > Thanks,
> > > Jessica
> > >
> >
>